All responsible homeowners who pay their mortgages should help the ones who can’t – I DON’T THINK SO!!!!

"The age of personal responsibility is obviously dead."

So said a blogger named Lynai, commenting about CNBC Business host Rick Santelli's on-air rant Feb. 20 on the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade.

Santelli's outburst reminded me of Howard Beale, the mentally unstable, over-opinionated newscaster played by Peter Finch in the 1976 film, “Network,” where he said, "I am mad as hell, and I am not going to take this anymore."

Santelli referred to President Obama's $75 billion rescue plan, which is part of that stimulus package we are all going to be paying for the next hundred years. Why? To bail out homeowners who cannot pay their mortgage, courtesy of the 92 percent who pay their mortgages.

"This is America," Santelli yelled among the crowd of investors. "How many of you people want to pay your neighbor's mortgage?"

I noticed no investors raised their hand.

"You know, the new administration's big on computers and technology -- How about this, President Obama and your new administration? Why don’t you put up a website where people could vote as a referendum, to see if we really want to subsidize the losers' mortgages; or would we rather buy cars and houses in foreclosure and give them to people who might have a chance to prosper down the road? Thus, rewarding people that could carry the water instead of drink the water?" Santelli asked.

Which brings me to the subject of what blogger Lynai said about personal responsibility and it being a moral issue.

Years ago, I worked for a company that stupidly eliminated late fees. This was the equivalent of President Kennedy's plan to axe the Central Intelligence Agency. Never mind the fact that doing away with all late charges meant doing away with millions of dollars of revenue, as well as corporate employees' jobs. By saying no more late fees, the company was telling its customers they no longer would be held accountable for their actions. They could return the item a month later if they wished and they would not be charged fifty dollars plus in late charges and the price of the item.

Well, so much for people accepting personal responsibility. I am not alone when it comes to people who pay their mortgages on time.

"They have mortgages and it's their responsibility to pay them," said one woman in New York in an interview on NBC Nightly News."

"I feel like I'm doing the right thing paying my mortgage, and now apparently I have to pay my neighbor's mortgage, too," said stay-at-home mom Kim Guymon, whose value on her Seattle suburban home has dropped $150,000.

And they have a right to be angry. I do not know how you feel but as someone who would eventually like to own a home, I do not care to be put in the group that Texas Republican Jeb Hensarling calls "Nice guys finish last." How do you homeowners feel about being referred to as that nice guy?

Even if I were a homeowner (I rent), and got myself into a financial mess, I assure you that I would make darn certain the banks got my mortgage payment every month. The credit card bills and anything else can wait. If you do not have a roof over your head, you are screwed.

You can say what you want about Santelli. A lot of what I have read on the blogs say his on-air rant has been viewed negatively, but there are a lot of bloggers who stand with him.

I do not watch CNBC and up until Feb. 20, I had not even heard of Santelli.

This is not about Rick Santelli, whose live exchange has been viewed over 1.2 million times on CNBC.com, according to The Associated Press.

This is about people taking responsibility for their own financial actions. Stop holding pity parties and waiting for the government to bail you out.

It is your nest, deadbeats. Now lie in it.

©2/23/09

Obesity not as funny as "Hollyweird" makes it out to be

A few weeks ago, I caught what has been the No. 1 movie for two straight weeks in January – “Paul Blart: Mall Cop.” It's about a divorced, overweight, self-conscious father, played by Kevin James, who lives with his mother and daughter and works as a security guard for the local mall.

The film, which has grossed $112 million to date, could be described as "Die Hard In A Mall" in which Blart battles terrorists who take over the shopping center on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.

Despite being considered a comedy, the movie left me with a few disturbing impressions about how Americans look at obesity, with laughter at the top of the list.

In one scene, Blart and another overweight African American male, much larger than he, have a contest to see who can finish off a bowl of nachos first.

When the lead terrorist tells a police negotiator he wants a happy meal, the hefty African American kid later asks if he can get one, too.

I admit I smiled a lot at all the mock references about overweight people, this coming from someone who is overweight. Just like I laughed and actually felt honored when my former manager once told me how I reminded him of Bluto, the party drinking character John Belushi played in “Animal House” (1978).

Because of my Italian background and my size, he also told me I reminded him of Clemenza, the overweight capo regime, played by Richard Castellano, in “The Godfather” (1972). It wasn't because he pictured me dressed in an overcoat carrying a long thin box with a shotgun inside walking up several flights of stairs to blow away rivals of the New York crime family or sitting in the back seat of a car ready to garrot the traitorous son-in-law sitting in the front seat.

Clemenza's love of food and drink was the reason my manager compared me to the character. When he was not busy asking for a pitcher of wine at a wedding, Clemenza was seen teaching Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) how to perfectly cook up some meatballs and sausage, much to the annoyance of James Caan's Sonny.

Let's be honest. Of all the lines people quote from The Godfather movies, the most humorous is the one not mentioned in Mario Puzo's novel or the original screenplay where Castellano ad-libs his character’s infamous line, "Leave the gun. Take the cannoli."

What's ironic is whenever audiences aren't busy laughing at such memorable characters, they are busy criticizing how some celebrities, women in particular, have allowed their hot-looking physiques slide.

You need look no further than singer Jessica Simpson whose recent unveiling of her chunky side didn’t win rave reviews from the public. Only 24 percent in a poll said she looked great. I was among that group. People have no idea what the phrase, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" means. I had no problem with the photos, much like the ones I saw in 2007 of Britney Spears sporting a small pot belly during a televised dance number at the MTV Music Video Awards and Jennifer Love Hewitt's handlebars while sporting a bikini on the beach. The bottom line is: They were still better looking than I am.

The grim reality of obesity is that it is not funny at all. Yet, when Hollywood attempts to confront the issue head-on, such as criticizing overweight people, they get heat from the public. Such was the case early this year when comedian Ricky Gervais said people should just put down the hamburgers and go out and exercise.

"If your arse is too fucking fat, stop eating and go for a run," Gervais said.

I cannot say I do not agree with him. Like Gervais, who also admits he has a weight problem and wishes people on the street would call him "fatty" as he is walking by as a means to get him to do something about his girth, I'd personally welcome it if the girlfriend I meet was a cross between a foul-mouthed drill sergeant and a physically fit guru who was the equivalent of a muscle-bound dominatrix who wouldn't think twice about whipping my ass whenever I fall off the dietary wagon.

Every six months my doctor tells me how pleased he is that my blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure are all under control, partially because I watch what I eat but mostly thanks to all the medications I am on. Before leaving, he always adds that all those symptoms will go away if I lose some weight, even just a little. But he does not get upset or throw a fit when he sees I have not made much progress on weight loss. It is because of the risk of losing me as a patient.

Maybe a little scolding is what we all need. I know what foods I should and should not be eating and I do go out for walks around the track a few days a week, but I need to do a lot more. As my trainer at 24 Hour Fitness once told me when it comes to dieting, "This ain't rocket science."

I have found when it comes to dieting and weight loss you must be of two minds on the subject; saying and doing. My problem is I do too much saying and not enough doing.

Of course, I am not going to waste column space quoting articles from the Center for Disease Control about how the number of overweight people continues to rise every year, and along with those numbers the rising statistics of people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, cancer, and sleep apnea problems. I have heard all this before and so has everyone else, whether they are hefty or not.

Paul Blart is not the first, nor will he be the last of memorable overweight, self-conscious characters people enjoy watching on the big screen. Fantasy, however, only lasts a couple of hours.

The reality is when the theater lights go off and the ushers are left picking up the remains of half empty boxes of stale popcorn, sodas, slushy’s, candy and half eaten-day-old hot dogs, microwave pizzas and nachos, obesity is not as funny as Hollywood makes it out to be.

©2/21/09

Could the reason no one tunes in to the Oscars is because of the movies nominated?

You do not have to be a brain surgeon to figure out why no one seems to be as interested in the Academy Awards, much like you do not have to see all the Oscar-nominated movies to figure out who will win. The answer lies in the movies chosen. Of the 50 plus films nominated this year, which includes all categories, eight of them (“Bolt”, “The Dark Knight”, “Tropic Thunder”, “Kung Fu Panda”, “Wall-E”, “Hellboy II: The Golden Army”, “Iron Man”, and “Wanted”), excluding “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”, which to date has made $119 million, are box office hits that brought in between $75 and $540 million.

All eight are a combination of action adventure, comedy, and animation; truly not the kinds of hard-hitting dramas and independent productions Oscar prefers to see on his list of categories. Yet those are the ones audiences shelled out money to see over the past year. They don’t want to see what practically all the critics recommend like “The Reader” or “Frost/Nixon”, both of which have yet to hit the $20 million mark.

To be honest, the last time I was ever excited about the Academy Awards, which could include most everyone else (OK-me and all the women because no guys consider “Titanic” (1997) a “man’s film.”), was back in 1998 when the ship “God couldn’t sink” won 11 of its 14 Oscar nominations. Back then, 55.2 million viewers watched compared to last year’s lowest: 32 million.

Along with the low ratings is how boring the telecasts are with only one big surprise that happens over the course of the entire three plus hours. The big surprise at the 2006 Oscars was when “Crash” (2005) won Best Picture. Last year’s surprise, in what I found to be a touch of class, was when host Jon Stewart brought Oscar winning singer Marketa Irglova back on stage again allowing her to give her thank you speech for Best Song for “Once” (2006), which she shared with Glen Hansard. The moment would not have happened if the orchestra had not butt in cutting everyone’s acceptance speeches short with music to keep the running time under four hours.

If anything unexpected happens at this Sunday’s Oscars on Feb. 22, I’d like to believe it’s going to be that the late Heath Ledger will not win the Best Supporting Actor nomination for playing the Joker in “The Dark Knight.”

Now wouldn’t that just be a complete pisser to all the nerds and Batman fans who have been pushing for the star to not only get an Oscar nomination but to win as well since the 28-year-old actor passed away last January as a result of an overdose on prescription medications? I can just see the Oscar statue swimming in an ocean with Dark Knight fans and nerds circling like angry sharks with fins on their backs ready to snack on the golden statue’s innards.

That is what I would like to see happen. If nothing else would make the night, not to mention the aftermath coverage the loss would get from the entertainment press, so much more newsworthy.

This is not, however, a perfect world. When it comes to movie trivia, Ledger is going to go down as the second actor in Oscar history to win an Academy Award posthumously, the first being Peter Finch for his 1977 win as “The Mad Prophet of the Airwaves” Howard Beale in “Network” (1976). The only reason Ledger will win is because you cannot tell if that is really Heath Ledger under the white makeup. It is as if we really are watching a homicidal maniac on the big screen. So let the nerds have their day in the sun.

Then again, stranger things have happened. Maybe the ratings will pick up this year. Perhaps people will be interested to see what was going through the producers’ minds when they decided to have actor Hugh Jackman host the ceremonies instead of a comedian. Maybe they did it to attract more female viewers since Jackman won People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive last year.

Then again, Oscar has never been much of a people person. The golden statue does not care what the people want to see nominated, much less the critics. This is all about him or it. That’s why they have The People’s Choice Awards so the public can get their say on who they think deserves the highest honors.

So don’t be surprised in the days after the ceremonies are over if among the questions you hear being asked by reporters on “Entertainment Tonight” and in Entertainment Weekly as “Who wore the best red dress?” and “What was the biggest surprise of the night?” if you once again read about how the ratings were either down, or the same as last year’s and what can be done to make next year’s ceremonies more interesting.

©2/15/09